When the U.S. Army decided to build a road, testing and repair pavement for heavy tanks in Israel, they were looking for a partner capable of creating a tough and long lasting surface, while solving the perennial problem of steel tracks damaging concrete joints. The task was not easy as tanks are probably the heaviest vehicles with a weight of 60 to 80 tons and sharp steel tracks prone to creating problems for any surface they drive on.
The project was managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the general contractor was Florida–based Nibor. They chose PrīmX Composite – the only seamless concrete pavement system in the world.
“The client had its own specification, but there were additional and special concerns – resistance to hard abrasion and reduction to joint damage from steel tracks. We offered our solution - a very hard and completely jointless surface. This was also the first time the Israeli Army used a concrete pavement solution with steel fibre-only reinforcement,” says Nir Hatzor, Country Manager of Primekss Israel.
To create ultimate abrasion resistance, Primekss uses extremely hard aggregates in very strong, crack- and joint-free steel fiber reinforced concrete. The PrīmX system uses proprietary additives that form a micro-scale composite structure, including crystals that expand and compress the internal concrete matrix eliminating micro cracks whilst putting the steel fibers under tension, creating a permanent chemical pre-stress. Steel fibers also create tough 3-dimensional reinforcement creating very high ductility, and linking together and effectively stopping cracks from forming.
The special additives eliminate shrinkage, allowing PrīmX pavement to be produced saw cut joint free. These joints are always the weak spot and do get easily damaged with turning tracks.
“We created a solution for the tank road and drive test field that is durable and abrasion resistant. That is very important with sliding and drifting hard steel tracks. They take any unevenness on the surface and pull and push with huge force and the concrete just gets damaged. A jointless floor solution with abrasion resistant, hard concrete makes concrete pavement last much longer,” says Janis Oslejs, CEO of Primekss.
“The creation of the perfect tank pavement is even more important, because if the surface gets damaged, there are no good and easy methods for repairing it that would withstand heavy loads,” added Mr. Oslejs.
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